The forgotten crumb
by El loopy
Summary: After the party Haruhi stays behind to tidy up, but she isn't the only one. A missing scene post-episode 1x2 'The job of a High School Host.' Oneshot. Tamaki x Haruhi.


**A/N Missing scene post episode 1x2 'The job of a High School Host'. Thank you to AFandomAuthor and emilybrock101 for your reviews of 'Accusations'. I do intend to do one of these every few episodes so I hope that is good news. Enjoy.**

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><p><span>The forgotten crumb<span>

The ballroom was a mess! Haruhi stared around at the discarded plates, the remains of buffet food scattered half eaten across the tables, and glasses, with dregs still coating the insides.

_'Don't rich people know how to use a bin?'_

She gave a defeated sigh and walked to the nearest table, scrapping the remains onto a single plate and stacking the now empty crockery – carefully though, they were probably Victorian or something. She had enough of a debt without adding plates that cost more than her monthly food shop.

_'Why couldn't they just use paper plates?'_ she mused, wishing she could just sweep the whole lot into the bin. She knew why of course, it was more of a rhetorical thought.

"Haruhi, what are you doing?"

She blinked in confusion at the voice and looked around to see the Prince of the Host Club leaning on the top banister. His sparkling good looks seemed to be somewhat muted at the end of the long evening. Usually the space around him almost hummed, as though he threw glitter into the air. Now he watched her with calm blue eyes; the air around him the normal colour that rested on everyone else.

"Tamaki-senpai?" she ran her surprised gaze over his attire. His hair was rumpled from his hands through it one too many times. The top button of his shirt was undone and his bow tie loosened to sit as a thin ribbon of black on white. He looked...good. She shook the appreciative thought away as soon as she recognised it and followed her surprise through instead.

"What are you still doing here?"

Tamaki made his way slowly down the stair towards her, hands in his pockets.

"I might ask you the same question." He looked over the small stack of plates and then gestured to the ones she still held, his eyes softening. "You know, we have a cleaning staff hired to do that."

Haruhi clearly didn't know. "Oh! Right." _'Damn rich people.' _Slowly she put the plates down and rubbed the back of her head. "I'm just not used to that being a person's job, you know? Cleaning up after a party."

Tamaki shook his head in wonder.

"Did you think we'd leave you here to do it all alone if it weren't?" he said with a slight chuckle. Her uneasy silence answered him like a slap. His face became serious. "You're a member of the Host Club Haruhi. This evening should have shown you that."

Haruhi looked at him in surprise and let the memories of the evening came back.

Kanako and Toru had left hand-in-hand at the end of it all, laughing, smiling and whispering to each other, planning the future, making up for lost time.

"You looked so pretty as a girl." She met his eyes, the gaze wistful, his smile soft, and felt an odd warmth in her chest. "You were amazing Haruhi. It couldn't have been done without you. You convinced that young man to fight for his love."

A light blush dusted Haruhi's cheeks. "You were pretty amazing too Senpai. I don't know why...but I wasn't expecting it."

She waited for him to fly into a hurt outburst and sit in a corner but it never came. He just ran a hand through his hair, ruffling the untidiness further, and looked away to hide his own blush.

Haruhi leaned back against the table and shut her eyes, tiredness washing over her for a moment before she looked back at the Host Club leader.

"So why are you still here Tamaki-snepai?" She remembered asking the question earlier and he'd never really answered it. She was curious.

"I'm not sure really." Tamaki was still staring off to the side and she realised that he was looking out the window. "There is something different in the air after a party...it's almost sad. Everyone goes home and forgets but I like to stay and remember. It's very peaceful."

Haruhi blinked and looked around the ballroom again, letting the silence settle. The memories of the dancers and the laughter still seemed to hover in the air. "You're right."

They stood in silence for a long moment, soaking in the atmosphere and the quiet. For Tamaki the peace only lasted a few moments before an idea flitted across his mind, and then he was unable to shake it. He saw again the graceful dancers stepping, gliding, sweeping across the dance floor and the thought again returned that he hadn't danced with Haruhi yet. The desire nagged and itched like a forgotten crumb in his subconscious until he couldn't take it any more. Eyes fixed to the middle distance he opened his mouth to speak before courage deserted him.

"Haruhi, would you like to...?"

A loud yawn ripped through his words, scattering them into mist. Haruhi clapped a hand to her mouth at the last second, stifling the tail end.

"Sorry Senpai." A second yawn followed on the heels of the first and she quickly hid it. "What were you saying?"

Tamaki looked her over, at the half-shut eyes and half-slumped posture, and gave a gentle chuckle.

"Never mind. I think you need to go home."

Haruhi gave a sleepy nod and Tamaki escorted her out to get a car home, leaving his dreams in the empty ballroom.


End file.
